


cacoëthes

by hikarinanao



Category: BTOB
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, No mpreg, Smut, obviously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-02-27 17:15:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13252875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikarinanao/pseuds/hikarinanao
Summary: Like a sheep, Eunkwang is thrown into the wolf's den. He also needs to lead those wolves. A great formula for a success story, isn't it?[aka the omegakwang fic: the adventures of omegakwang and his 4 alphas + 2 betas.]





	1. 서은광

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a twitter conversation that just wouldn't leave my mind for days. Still not too sure where to take this... maybe will add more tags and relationships later on.

Eunkwang has been sitting in front of the piano for god knows how long.

It's a musician thing. When there is something on their minds, they would go to their most loyal friend: their own musical instruments. Sometimes they don't even play. They just sit and look at them and it already feels like they have shared their deepest secrets, like someone else is lifting their burdens for them.

Eunkwang does exactly this. Sometimes, he presses a key or two, but not one song. Not even a full melody.

He stays in the practice room at the company for hours and hours until he pretty much gets kicked out, and when that happens, someone is waiting for him outside.

"Sungjae-yah?" Disbelief paints Eunkwang's voice. "Why are you here? How long have you been here?"

Sungjae gives him a look that makes Eunkwang want to curl up. "Ask that to yourself, hyung," he says, his intense eyes not leaving the older. "Still thinking?"

Eunkwang lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "I'm—it's impossible to stop."

Sungjae wants to hold him in his arms. "I'm sure you'll do great," Sungjae says in place of an embrace, every word sincere.

Eunkwang gives him a sheepish smile. Being a leader isn't a new thing to him, having been appointed as leader all the time in school for his high spirits and initiative character, but this time is different. The stakes have never been higher. He will have to be the glue that keeps the group together, be the person in charge of them, take care of each and every one of his six members, lead the group's growth, become an example they can look up to. Not only that, but to everyone else, he has to be a good representative of the group and also has to fight for his group when needed. That's not even all of his responsibilities. Eunkwang feels his heart race in fear just thinking of it.

Sungjae looks like he has something in mind and he says it finally, with a hint of worried sympathy in his eyes and his voice low. "Who cares what you are, hyung."

The older almost starts crying right then and there. Right. The responsibilities aren't even the whole problem. The most troubling thing in his mind is how he is going to do all that while being the only omega in his group.

He understands. He understands where the company is coming from, choosing an omega like him as the leader of their newest soon-to-debut group. Nurturing is his second nature and he enjoys it, he enjoys looking after the members and always checking up on them not because he has to but because he likes to. But Eunkwang isn't sure if all the others feel the same. After all, hierarchy-wise, he should be below them, and it's a thing most alphas feel very strongly about. Moreover, male omegas are already a rare and strange commodity—male alphas generally dislike them.

Even though he just said it, Sungjae bites his lower lip, feeling unsure of his own statement. It's not that no one cares what Eunkwang is. It's that everybody cares and yes, that includes Sungjae. He would be lying if he didn't feel the slightest anger when the omega was announced as their leader, him being an alpha himself, but after seeing Eunkwang break down his anger dissipates almost instantly. Sungjae hates to see his hyung doubting himself like this when Sungjae knows he has the capabilities to lead well, based on how well he always treats his dongsaengs.

"You're still a hyung we all look up to," Sungjae adds after a long pause, long enough for Eunkwang to get the hint that Sungjae also doubted him at first. Eunkwang feels relieved that Sungjae has indirectly told him his doubt though, because it shows that the maknae isn't hiding anything, he is being completely honest right now and he is sincere in his attempt to console Eunkwang. "You've taken care of us really well," the maknae adds again.

At that, Eunkwang finally breaks down and tears start falling down uncontrollably. Sungjae also gives in to his earlier desire to hold Eunkwang in his arms.

Sungjae caresses his back and strokes his hair. He tries to eke out as much of his underdeveloped alpha pheromones as possible in an attempt to comfort his leader, and although it's not as strong as desired, the evident effort his maknae did for him gives Eunkwang more comfort than he could ask for. They return to their shabby new dorm together after fixing Eunkwang up and Eunkwang falls asleep almost immediately, feeling no more confident than he did earlier, but a lot calmer.

The calm is short-lived however, as Eunkwang's fears get proven right the next day.

"No."

Eunkwang is trembling. He can feel his fingers tremor and quickly forms fists to hide them. He wants to fight the urge to listen to the boy, but it's too rooted in his nature to not to.

"Give him a chance, Ilhoon," Changsub berates from the other side of the circle the seven of them has formed in the practice room. Eunkwang looks at the beta with pleading eyes, hate to see his friends get riled up like this over him.

"No. Did you forget I also don't have to listen to you?" Ilhoon counters. "I'm not gonna just follow a male omega's orders around. End of discussion."

"Yah," Changsub grits his teeth. "He's still older than you, you—"

Ilhoon cuts him off by approaching Eunkwang in large steps, his overwhelming dominant aura suddenly exuding out of him in waves. Even the other alphas are shocked by his sudden drastic change, shown by the flabbergasted look in Minhyuk, Peniel and Sungjae's expressions. Not pausing at all, he stops right in front of Eunkwang and casually puts a hand under Eunkwang's chin.

The alpha starts stroking and Eunkwang so so easily falls apart under the touch, purring and leaning in.

Ilhoon starts speaking, which Eunkwang doesn't pay attention to. "Look at him. It's so easy to make him like this. How pitiful is this?"

Eunkwang's legs are about to give out under the intense sensation when it suddenly stops. When he comes to, Minhyuk is already in front of him and Ilhoon is still wobbling under the momentum of Minhyuk's forceful push. "Cut it off," sternly he commands. "And you will listen to me, Jung Ilhoon."

Ilhoon still has the power over Minhyuk to look at him with such challenging eyes, sending shivers down Eunkwang's spine, but Minhyuk doesn't flinch. Giving a malicious look at the omega one last time, he turns on his heel and heads to the exit. Before he lets the door close behind him, he looks over his shoulder and once more declares: "I'm still not going to listen to lowly male omegas."

The door shuts. The room is frightfully silent in its wake, with Minhyuk's anger still invading the room's every nook and cranny. Changsub is still visibly fuming. Sungjae is silently panicking, looking back and forth at Minhyuk and Eunkwang, not sure what to do. Peniel is just confused.

Hyunsik approaches Eunkwang then, rubbing his shoulders. The beta's soft ministrations aren't as comforting as an alpha's would be for Eunkwang, but it's still something Eunkwang is incredibly grateful for. Honestly, it's taking everything in Eunkwang just to stand right now.

"It's fine, hyung," Hyunsik says softly right into his ear. "We'll do something about him."

Eunkwang smiles bitterly. It's hard to be comforted by those words because Eunkwang feels really helpless. Physically and instinctively, he is simply cannot go against Ilhoon. There's no workaround to this problem other than relying on everyone else, and every time he remembers that he just reminds himself that he is being a shit leader who needs his members to protect him. At this point, he is the total opposite of "the leader that glues the group together."

The suffocating tension in the room fades slowly and when Eunkwang looks over, it looks like it's because Minhyuk has collected himself. Peniel is asking him questions in broken Korean, and Minhyuk gives him a nod, a gentle smile and a squeeze on his shoulder as an answer.

"Let's just practice," he says after another deep breath. "It'll be his loss if we progress further than him anyway."

Seeing as Eunkwang is still shaken, Minhyuk announces that he will lead practice for now. Eunkwang feels a little dejected for again failing the role of a leader, but for now, he'll take it as a blessing as he really should. Minhyuk did approach him before the takeover, trying to comfort the leader before offering his help. Heck, he even apologized for not being in the right state of mind to control his pheromones, thus being unable to give comfort to Eunkwang, when he really didn't have any obligation to do so.

Midway through practice, Peniel finally comes over to him, his clothes damp with sweat. He starts speaking in English, which Eunkwang doesn't understand at all. He says one word that Eunkwang knows: "sorry," before enveloping Eunkwang in a tight but awkward hug. Eunkwang's guess is that Peniel is also trying to use his pheromones on him, but the vibes he gives is more all over the place and it makes Eunkwang laugh for the first time today. He of course doesn't tell Peniel it's his spectacular fail that entertained him and not his pheromones, not when Peniel is smiling so brightly, pleased at his not-so-successful attempt.

It really cements Eunkwang's determination to be more grateful for his members instead of sorry.

They return to the dorm where Ilhoon has locked himself in his room. In the past, idol dorms don't have locks, but nowadays they have them to protect the members during particularly nasty ruts or heats. It's illegal to not have them. The manager is supposed to be a strong alpha so he can order the members around if needed, but he just shrugs, saying Ilhoon's too strong even for him.

The leader tries to dismiss worries once more, breathe, focus on positive vibes. Being the only omega, Eunkwang has a room for himself, so Ilhoon's poor roommate Sungjae crashes there for the night. Having the maknae with him is tremendously comforting. They talk and talk about the most mundane things—from "hyung, when did you start learning piano?" to "my garage's door color is yellow, what about yours?"—the maknae never being satisfied with Eunkwang's answers and keeps asking and asking and asking. The leader finds it extremely adorable.

They do that until they both can't keep their eyes open. Ilhoon still won't come out of his room the next day, so they again practice with the six of them. This time, Eunkwang leads, to the best of his ability, satisfied when feeling his members trust him back.

The next morning, however, Sungjae wakes up with a jolt. Eunkwang is curled up next to him, facing away.

"Sungjae-yah." It's the first time Eunkwang has ever come off as intimidating, but still not without gentleness in his voice. "You're awake?"

Sungjae nods, remembers Eunkwang can't see him, then lets out a weak "yes."

"Okay. Get out."

He obeys his leader, himself starting to panic. Outside, everyone else is already waiting at the door, peering inside with worried gazes. He hears the door locking behind him immediately after, and he already knows why.

Eunkwang is in heat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My [twitter](http://twitter.com/btosuju)!
> 
> And yes, Missing You is still my priority, do not fret


	2. 이민혁

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of an explanation to clarify the abo system I'm applying here! Just to avoid confusion, because I am modifying things a little.
> 
> Some of these have been explained in the prev chap, but here are some main pointers:  
> \- Alphas can use their pheromones to comfort omegas but only if the omega wants to accept it.  
> \- People are born with different strengths in their aura/pheromones which can be trained also, with meditation and stuff. It may be both advantageous and disadvantageous to you, depending on the situation. (example: employers generally don't want the strong ones as they're too much trouble when their senses come out.)  
> \- Alphas can, if they're mentally strong enough, influence omegas to order them around, although it is really frowned upon and can be punishable by law in certain cases. Surprisingly, they lose this ability when in rut, because their minds are too all over the place to concentrate enough. How the omega resists this also depends on their inner wolves's strength.  
> \- Betas can't receive nor give comfort as they lack both pheromone glands and receptors.  
> \- This ability with their pheromones is accessible even before presenting as alpha/omega (first rut/heat).  
> \- With that said, yes, people are able to identify their secondary gender early on in this verse, but their feral instincts don't kick in until they present themselves.
> 
> I think that's all that is different from your usual ABO fics, and stuff that needs prior clarification. The rest should be familiar/explained in the fic. Just keep in mind that I want to place heavier emphasis on the emotional side of abo here and you should understand enough.
> 
> On to the fic!

The company has rules about inner wolves.

  1. Trainees and artists may deal with their own heats and ruts in any way they wish. However, any consequences in the irresponsible handling of their heats and ruts are not covered by the company.
  2. Unbonded omegas are to be on birth control at all times.
  3. Artists are to be under heat and rut suppressants during promotion and concert periods. Otherwise, artists and trainees are free to choose, although suppressants are ill-advised as they may affect their health under frequent use.
  4. Mating is prohibited for trainees. Artists may only mate three years after debut. In such cases, mating is to be discussed with the company first. Any undiscussed mating will have consequences as determined by the company.
  5. Bonding is only allowed to artists and must be discussed prior with the company. Any undiscussed bonding is prohibited under contract and will affect the artist's position in the company.



Complying by these rules, when the boys reported to their manager that their leader Seo Eunkwang is in heat, the manager simply shrugged and told them to not involve him in such matters unless it's an emergency. It's true that it's not an emergency. They haven't entered promotion period yet, it's not against the rules for Eunkwang to go through heat, nothing will change except Eunkwang will miss out on a practice or two. That's it.

Maybe it's because it's the first time this has happened since they started living together as a group. Back when they were trainees, omegas, betas, and alphas live separately. This one where a member—their leader—goes through heat is an unfamiliar situation, and it's just confusing trying to maneuver through it.

And Eunkwang—here's the problem. The bigger problem. Eunkwang... he is _strong_.

Yes, normally, alphas can smell an omega in heat from feet away. That's normal. It also arouses alphas. That's also normal.

But Seo Eunkwang—he is not normal. This much is not normal.

When it started in the morning, it was just awkward and worrying. Not much problem. The boys were just concerned about how Eunkwang is going to take care of it. Their leader had shouted from inside his room that he would "take care of it himself, don't worry," so the boys agreed to just keep a safe distance away. They were going to practice and return in the late afternoon anyway. Ilhoon even agreed to join this time, although not without leaving some "problematic omega" remarks. He kept quiet and followed orders for the rest of the practice, to everyone else's relief.

When they returned from practice, however, all of them stopped before the front door. Actually... the alphas have even been walking slowly two floors away from their dorm.

Changsub is the first one to speak. "U-Um. Is this... is this...?"

The other beta in the crowd, Hyunsik, turns to him. "So even you feel it too, hyung. I thought my mind was playing with me."

"What—even the betas?" Minhyuk turns to them with an incredulous look. "This is strong, but to even have it affect the betas..."

The eldest in the group runs his eyes over them. The betas both look confused—normal, for people who usually don't feel this at all. Sungjae is pacing around and Peniel is looking blankly at the wall, trying to calm themselves down. Not having presented, all they can feel right now is the racing heartbeat and a sense of panic, but still an overwhelming sensation no less, undoubtedly. Ilhoon gives off an expected similar smell, but his expression is unreadable. He clearly doesn't seem to like this, though.

Minhyuk sighs, knowing at this rate he has to be the one to take action. Not like it could be anyone else, really, considering all the other alphas are not yet ready. His own arousal is also starting to cloud his judgment, so while he has sanity left, he bravely grips the handle and opens the door.

It's even stronger with the door opened, to the point where Sungjae hesitates to come in. Ilhoon, though, walks in with confident steps straight to his room, which he then locks. He's still at it, which Minhyuk regrets, but there are more pressing matters right now.

Minhyuk walks in with slow steps and heads straight to their leader's door. As he gets closer and closer, another sensation takes over his arousal and it's the empty feeling of desperation seizing his heart.

 _It's so intense,_ Minhyuk thinks, his hand even starting to clutch his own heart. Aside from physical fulfillment, omegas in heat also yearn for emotional fulfillment, causing them to feel emptier and more sentimental if they do not have an alpha to take care of them. This Minhyuk knows and already has felt before, but something this intense is suffocating. He feels so heartbroken, the heartache is so great even just like this. He can't imagine how Eunkwang must feel right now.

Now being right in front of Eunkwang's door, he hears the noises from inside. He hears sobs. He hears soft whimpers. It makes his heart hurt, despite the indecent thoughts that also invade his mind.

Peniel comes up to him with a note, and it's from their manager. It says that he is extremely sorry, but he had to leave because being in here was too much. He requests that somebody from their group take care of Eunkwang since it's definitely not possible for him to go out and try to look for help himself. He also notes that he has tried to persuade Eunkwang to go out and try to get help, but Eunkwang insists not to and successfully resists his alpha, so if there is no other choice, they should force help onto him before it becomes a bigger problem.

"What should we do?" Sungjae asks. "Should we call up some alpha services?"

Particularly strong omegas usually utilize legal, certified alpha services who would come to their homes and take care of them. The only downside to this option is the sky-high price. Which is why most omegas prefer to just grin and bear it.

Minhyuk considers. They probably have enough to call one up if they pool their money—

"Don't!" Eunkwang shouts from inside his room, having overheard them through the thin walls. "I—I can. I can hold it. Don't worry."

Minhyuk is starting to get frustrated. He's asking them to not worry but how is that possible? How is that possible when their leader is literally having a breakdown on the other side of the door?

"Eunkwang-ah," Minhyuk calls, finding his voice to gentle itself out without him needing to put effort into it. "Let us take care of you, please."

"It's fine, Minhyukie. Don't sweat yourself." He pauses to let out a grunt and muffled wail, causing Minhyuk's chest to burn some more. "I know it's kinda... bad... so you guys should just head out. It'll pass."

 _What an outrageous idea,_ Minhyuk almost retorts, but doesn't say it knowing it'll just sour the situation further. Changsub also frowns. "It's probably because he's living with alphas now, so it gets more intense... not to mention he was with Sungjae last night..."

Guilt starts to fog over Sungjae's eyes, so Changsub adds "Not that I mean anything, it's just a coincidence."

Ever creative Hyunsik is the one who speaks then. "Why don't we just take care of him personally?"

Everyone turns to him. He's starting to second-guess his own idea. "But, uh, he probably doesn't want us betas. The alphas... you're the only one who can do anything, Minhyuk-hyung."

Yeah, he knows that. Truth be told, he has been considering that ever since they stepped into the dorm. But he deduces it to just being his alpha talking, and he shouldn't listen to it.

Swallowing, he decides to just propose the idea to the omega in question. "Eunkwang-ah. What if I take care of you? Will you let me?"

"What!?" comes the reply from the other side, which Minhyuk already half-expected. "No. Of course not! That'd be asking too much from—"

Eunkwang lets out another grunt, followed by an actual wail and cry this time. He's slowly losing restraint from being surrounded by alphas. Minhyuk visibly winces from the emotional depth of it. His alpha inside is screaming to make it go away, however it takes.

Minhyuk collects himself and tries to impose all his alpha on the omega, hoping he's strong enough. He hates needing to do this but there's no other choice. "Eunkwang-ah, let me in," he commands.

There's a split second of a pause and Minhyuk almost thinks it's working, but then Eunkwang answers with a stern "No."

Minhyuk sighs and leans against the door, desperate. "Eunkwang-ah, please," he pleads. It's really not about his alpha senses going wild, although that is also happening, it just breaks his heart to see his leader suffering by himself when he can help. He glances at his dongsaengs, all still gathered by the door, and he knows they all think the same. They aren't going to just leave their leader here.

Changsub's always had bad temper, so it's not surprising that he already seems on the edge with Eunkwang's persistence. "Hyung, come on, please just—"

He is silenced by loud footsteps coming their way. Soft long locks swish between them as the figure takes his place in front of the door, and it's Ilhoon.

Everyone stares at him, questioning what he's doing. In the corner of his vision, Minhyuk sees Hyunsik already holding Changsub by the shoulders. Ilhoon, looking around, becomes aware that he's being watched, but he only lets out a sigh before turning back to the door.

Suddenly it comes at them with full force—the thick concentration of Ilhoon's alpha in the air, like an explosion. Minhyuk swallows. It's even stronger than what he has displayed before, and when Minhyuk looks over, he sees that Ilhoon is actually fully concentrating. He's not just kidding around. The air almost feels tangible with the intensity of their wolves filling it to the brim, a silent fight for dominance.

"Eunkwang-hyung," he says, power dripping from his voice. "Let Minhyuk-hyung in and take care of you."

Everyone shows their surprise and so does Minhyuk. Ilhoon is helping them. Actually helping them, and Eunkwang. He also doesn't let slide the fact that Ilhoon really addressed him as he should be addressed, "Eunkwang-hyung" and no longer "lowly omega".

Seconds pass with bated breaths before there is a shuffle of movement from the other side of the door, and the door is finally, finally, unlocked.

Ilhoon lets out a breath before soothing his wolf back, also relieving the others from the sheer tension. "There you go," Ilhoon says, removing himself from in front of the door. Minhyuk makes a move to thank him, but Ilhoon cuts his attempt with an "I just did it because I got annoyed by him sobbing all the time, okay? Please shut him up."

The younger takes large strides back to his room and Minhyuk smiles knowingly at his retreating back. He's read a lot of tsundere characters in manga but this is the first time actually seeing one in person. It's kind of endearing.

The rest of his dongsaengs part to make way for him. Minhyuk takes a deep breath before slowly pushing the door open. He hears Changsub say "Really? A strong omega and a strong alpha? What kind of messy group have I dragged myself into? Let me live my peaceful beta life, plea—" before he lets the door close behind him.

* * *

 

Minhyuk already had a degree of expectations as for Eunkwang's condition, but he didn't think it'd be this bad.

Eunkwang has a blanket covering his body torso downwards, but Minhyuk doesn't need to pull it off to know that the omega is naked underneath. That much is expected. But there are also angry red tear streaks trailing across his cheeks. His eyes are a nasty red.

The alpha doesn't think—his body pulls him towards the omega and holds him close. He gets his pheromone to work and he can feel the omega melting in his arms. Sweet nothings come out of his lips naturally as he massages the omega's back.

"Minhyuk-ah." Eunkwang sniffles into his chest. "I'm sorry. It's worse than usual, it's not usually like this, I—"

"Shh," Minhyuk silences him. "Just... relax, for now."

Eunkwang returns the embrace just as tight. His body starts to loosen.

Now that the initial panic is starting to fade, Minhyuk's full attention is drawn to something else and that is the petite body of the omega in his arms. The scent of need. He finally notices how impossibly hard he is right now.

Eunkwang also notices the growing desire and arousal in him, most likely. His reaction is to pull him down so that Minhyuk is straddling him.

They have eye contact. They both know. In this moment, they are so hungry for each other.

Minhyuk is a gentleman though, so even then he still holds himself back a second to ask. "Will you—"

"Just fuck me, please." Eunkwang laughs once he realizes what he just said. Minhyuk, too. It's just his omega talking, but somehow it's just a very Eunkwang thing to say. "Sorry. You're here now so hurry up and take care of me, I gave up resisting already."

Minhyuk nods then leans down to softly kiss his forehead, his cheek, and his lips. The kiss is tender, each pair of lips still getting introduced to each other, and it goes on for only mere seconds before Minhyuk pulls away. He tugs the blanket off the omega in one swoop.

He swallows. There's already a pool of wetness between Eunkwang's thighs. It takes all of him to not take him at that very moment.

"Fuck, look at this." Minhyuk presses his thumb to the gaping plump hole, making it twitch and Eunkwang hiss. "It's so wet and open. Holy shit."

"I-I've been using... toys." He gasps when Minhyuk dips his thumb in experimentally. Minhyuk takes a look around and right, there are some toys spread all over the bed. He smirks still, though. The size is nothing compared to Minhyuk. "To cope. Didn't help much, though."

He starts stripping his own clothes, carelessly tossing them somewhere.

"You can just put it in me right now, if you want," Eunkwang pleads breathily.

The smirk still on his face, Minhyuk turns to Eunkwang, only his boxers left to take off. "Are you sure? I'll have you know that I'm so much bigger than those."

He confidently tugs his boxers down, releasing his hard cock from its confinement. Eunkwang, surprised, releases a wave of arousal at the sight, successfully stroking Minhyuk's ego.

"You are on birth control, right? Since you probably want a knot," Minhyuk asks to confirm. The company requires all omegas to and Eunkwang isn't one to ditch the rules, but better safe than sorry. "I don't have condoms on me."

"I am," Eunkwang confirms, thankfully.

"Good."

He thrusts in three fingers unannounced, eliciting a scream from the omega, and pushes them in and out at a languid pace. Meanwhile, his lips travel up Eunkwang's inner thighs, spreading his legs open with it.

"Your hole is swallowing my fingers," Minhyuk says amazedly. He adds in another digit, to which Eunkwang lets out a dragged out moan. But he doesn't move them.

"Yah you little shit, _move_." Eunkwang asks politely, but Minhyuk still doesn't budge. He grunts in frustration and rolls his hips in snapping motions. Minhyuk laughs at the omega's desperation before sharply crooking his fingers upwards.

"Ahh!" Eunkwang screams shamelessly. Minhyuk presses his fingers against the spot repeatedly, knowing he has discovered a gold mine. "There—shit—alpha—your cock, please, I need your cock in me, please _please_."

As much as Minhyuk enjoys hanging Eunkwang on the edge, he himself also can't hold back anymore. The omega whines when Minhyuk pulls his fingers out, but is reduced back to screams when Minhyuk enters him in one smooth thrust, all the way to the base of his knot.

"Yes—you're so big. Shit—"

Minhyuk chuckles. "You're so loud, leader-yah. Everyone can hear you. So shameless."

"I don't care." He wiggles his hips again, trying to get friction because Minhyuk doesn't move. "They know what we're doing anyway."

Minhyuk leans down to his ear.

"Then scream my name instead."

He lifts Eunkwang's hips and starts relentlessly attacking his hole, not bothering with taking it slow and heads straight for the sweet spot he discovered earlier. Eunkwang obediently does as told and chants " _Minhyuk-ah, Minhyuk-ah, Minhyuk-ah_ " like a spell.

"You like this, don't you?"

"Yes," the omega yells between moans. "Y-You feel s-so good."

"Haa—fuck, Eunkwang. Do you know how good you feel? You're so slick but still so tight." His pace becomes faster and faster, completely breaking Eunkwang under him, but he still takes him so well. No hole he's experienced has ever been this slick before. Eunkwang's natural lubrication is even leaking out of his hole as Minhyuk thrusts in and out, making squelching noises each time. "You take me so well."

Eunkwang pulls him down by the neck and Minhyuk happily meets him halfway, crashing their lips together, devouring him in every way possible. It was sloppy—teeth against teeth, tongue wrestling tongue, loud smacks of their lips added to the array of noises they're making, a wild and raunchy song.

"I'm close, I'm close, Minhyuk." Eunkwang breathes against the other's lips.

"You're coming untouched," Minhyuk says, both as a statement and as a command. "Want my knot, omega? Hm?"

"Ahh—yes, yes, I want your—"

Minhyuk is so _so_ close. They both are. " _Hnngh_ —you—want my big knot in you?"

" _Yes!_ "

He grits his teeth. "Then _take it_."

The alpha thrusts once, twice, then pops his knot inside the overflowing hole with a loud growl. At the same time, Eunkwang squirts all over his stomach, again accompanied by a loud scream.

They're both breathing loudly. Minhyuk shifts and settles down behind the omega, spooning him and caressing him as his knot enlarges inside the other's hole.

"Mine usually lasts around twenty minutes," Minhyuk informs softly. Eunkwang only nods, all of his energy spent.

The tension in the room is no more, Eunkwang's body already sated. Once the high starts to reside, Eunkwang plants his face in his hands.

"I-I can't believe I said all of that. To you."

"Me neither," Minhyuk says with a soft laugh. "But hey, we couldn't help it, us both."

Eunkwang replies with an exhausted laugh. Slightly hesitant, he captures Minhyuk's hands in his own small ones.

"Thank you for doing this," he says. "Sorry if—"

"Hey, don't be sorry," Minhyuk interferes. "Rather, I—they, we—we all hated letting you feel like that, Eunkwang-ah. We were all worried. Next time, don't hesitate to rely on us, alright?"

"Mmm." Eunkwang snuggles back to Minhyuk's chest. Minhyuk hopes he got the message. He places a kiss on the back of Eunkwang's neck to emphasize his point. He doesn't see Eunkwang smile, but he feels it, somehow. Eunkwang seems so content.

They don't realize it when they fall asleep. They also don't realize everyone has left the dorm until they wake up and head out to clean only to find the dorm empty. There is a note on the dinner table. The writing is recognizably Changsub's.

 _Not just gonna sit here listening to our leader screaming, so call us when you're done. We'll come back with your dinner. Love you Eunkwang-hyung_ _❤_ _—your cute dongsaengs,_ is written on it, along with a messily scribbled out  _ ~~ilhoon doesn't!~~_ under the heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got smut inspiration aka smutspiration so I decided to leave my Missing You block and work on this... when will I finish that fic lmao...
> 
> I'm a little bit rusty on my smut though, and it's my first btob smut /////// apologies in advance if anything's off! If not though that's a relief lol
> 
> And here's my [twitter](http://twitter.com/btosuju)! Don't hesitate to come say hi if you want \o/


	3. 육성재

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM BACK GUYS.
> 
> Sorry I was gone for so long. I'll take the full blame, really. This chapter is 5k words long, hope it could somehow help partly atone for my sins lmao
> 
> Thankfully I've already fully planned the fic out now—I have like a giant excel table on this fic. Hopefully I can pull it off and write a good story you guys can enjoy.
> 
> Also there's a new format for this fic: each chapter of the fic will now focus on one member. There'll be a chapter for each of them. Yeah. That means there'll be like seven different plot lines here. Do pray for me.
> 
> Lastly, I can never be thankful enough for my lovely proofreader [Regi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/regimagi). She is like. The Best, you guys.
> 
> On to the long-awaited chapter!

Time passes like the wind: swift, chilling and possibly a foretelling of something colder, but unnoticeable once one gets used to it.

More so for Sungjae, who is the only member in school. He has to juggle trainee life, school, and life in the dorms. It's very hectic, but Sungjae sees his own improvement and thinks it's all worth it.

He's gotten somewhat closer to his hyungs as well, although there is always that unspoken tension there which worries him. But performance-wise, they're okay and everyone gives their best every time. They continue to practice as a group. The company has set their debut date and song. And of course, a group name: BTOB. Born to Beat.

"Born to Beat Each Other Up?" Changsub had commented the first time the name was given to them, prompting a rather deadly glare from Minhyuk.

When it happened, Sungjae couldn't say anything and he regrets it. Only an awkward silence followed, with what sounds like a quiet chuckle from Ilhoon. That night, from Changsub and Hyunsik's room, their leader’s voice was overheard saying something like "Is there anything I can do to accommodate you better?" and a repeated "I'm sorry, Changsub-ah" into the night.

Sungjae and his current roommate Peniel, whose room is directly next door, had to suffer the discomfit of listening to that through the thin walls of the dorms, their guilt of not knowing what to do making them restless. It was a night of tossing and turning in their bunk beds.

But this house has gotten so used to ignoring the elephant in the room that the next day, seemingly nothing has happened. Toxic as it is, it is their key to survive together until debut day.

Today, Sungjae had woken up and was immediately alert when he smelled the thick scent in the air—one he is familiar with, the heightened scent of an omega in heat. Peniel did the same thing.

Words unspoken between them but with mutual understanding, they move as they had been told.

Over time, their bodies have adapted. Eunkwang's body has adapted to the alphas surrounding him, slowly toning down the intensity from the initial shock of his first alpha-surrounded heat. Even so, toned-down Eunkwang is still abnormally strong. Due to the company still adamant against letting Eunkwang out for his safety, Minhyuk ends up taking care of him each time. being the only presented alpha in the group.

By the fourth month, most members had chosen to stay in the dorms whenever it's that time of the month to help do chores while Minhyuk and Eunkwang are unavailable. Part of why that's possible is also because of everyone else's body adapting to having an omega in such close proximity, and also a lot of coordination. Heats don't have an exact date, but when it happens, it's the first thing they notice in the morning. To avoid confusion, they all have their assigned roles: Minhyuk will immediately head to Eunkwang's room. Hyunsik leads group practice. Peniel prepares and washes the dishes. Ilhoon cleans their shared area.

(It's not his official post because he refuses to take orders, but that's what he'll end up doing anyway 100% of the time. It's like. An unspoken agreement.)

Changsub and Sungjae, whenever he's available, are in charge of food, which is why both of them are crammed in their tiny kitchen together. And as Changsub is chopping vegetables and Sungjae is boiling sweet potato noodles for japchae, a conversation takes place.

"I hate it," is what Changsub says out of the blue, starting the conversation.

Sungjae looks at him, expecting his hyung to continue, but he doesn't. "You hate everything,” he says instead.

"I hate that alpha brat."

Sungjae's hands stop. At this point pretty much everyone dislikes Ilhoon or at least not fond of him (except Eunkwang, because he is Eunkwang), but no one ever really says it out loud since doing so will just sour the situation further. Even Changsub, who is a known hater of Everything, hasn't verbally voiced his opinion on Ilhoon so bluntly.

And of course, they tend to ignore elephants in rooms. That’s just what they do.

Changsub starts to press his knife down with more pressure. "I hate Eunkwang-hyung, too. Nah, you're right, I do hate everything."

"Something happened?" asks Sungjae, because this conversation isn't just something that randomly happens. There's probably something that triggered it.

Changsub looks at him with his default expression these days: grumpy eyes and furrowed brows. After a few seconds of that, he finally starts to speak his mind.

"You know how Eunkwangie-hyung brews Ilhoon's morning tea these days?"

Ilhoon has a cup of English Breakfast every morning. He brews it by himself in the first few weeks of dorm life, but lately, Eunkwang has taken to brewing it for him.

"Lately it's not just tea, too. Eunkwang-hyung has even started to line up his shoes in the shoe rack, help with his laundry, make his bed, what's next? Give him a foot massage?" He sets aside the diced carrots on the chopping board before putting the knife down and moving to the bowl of blanched spinach. "Yesterday I told Eunkwang-hyung that he shouldn't do stuff like that—I mean—doing something as a favor is nice and all, but it really just comes off as spoiling him. Not to mention that even after all of that, that brat still has his bitchy act going. I've been watching him. He still never follows his directions in rehearsals, still won't listen to his advice, every direction and advice has to go through Minhyuk-hyung to get into his head and it's annoying and time consuming, he still won't admit anything he's done wrong and heck! He's never said thank you to Eunkwangie-hyung even once. Ungrateful ass—"

Changsub squeezes the spinach until it's pretty much crushed in his fist.

(Sungjae is grateful that he at least has put the knife down.)

"And I... I told Eunkwang-hyung all of this, and he... he just went, like," Changsub changes his tone to imitate the leader, ""but it's my job to accommodate him, Changsub-ah, at least I gotta do something, Changsub-ah, it's all I can do, Changsub-ah," like—fuck—fuck that shit. Come on."

Sungjae bites his lip. He can't say he disagrees with what his hyung is saying, but at the same time admitting it feels wrong. It feels dirty. It's like they have tried so hard to build this one wall trying to pretend everything is fine, so admitting things aren't fine will break down that wall. It will mess up the balance they've worked to maintain all this time.

"You were his roommate for a while, weren't you?"

Sungjae could feel a trench in his heart digging deeper. It's not something he likes to recall. "I was."

Not that Ilhoon was a bad guy. In fact, he was not that at all. During the period of time when Sungjae trained to be a rapper (Sungjae calls it The Mistake Period), Ilhoon was extremely generous with advice. He became a hyung Sungjae admired and looked up to. Sungjae doesn't like remembering about it because it would remind him of how excited he was when the seven of them were gathered in a room and told they would debut together.

Until all hell broke loose, that is.

He feels bad. Of course he feels bad, maybe he feels the worst. Out of all of them, he is likely the one who knows Ilhoon best. And yet—

"For god's sake, though. I know he's a valuable asset to the group but it's like his ears are deaf to us!" Changsub picks up the knife again, and the vice grip he has on the knife—so much that his hands are shaking—gets Sungjae _extremely_ nervous. "Brats like him have to be taught a—"

Steps. Peniel enters the kitchen, looking for his fiber snacks. Sungjae gladly shows him the cupboard, where it is stored after evacuating it from Peniel's food-smelling closet.

When the rapper has left, the kitchen is already noisy with loud sizzles of Changsub's stir-fry. Any remaining conversation is left unspoken, to Sungjae's relief, hoping the huge elephant in the room goes back to sleep and stays that way.

* * *

Not long after that conversation, the first event to throw off the group's balance finally happens—the blizzard after the chilly wind. And surprisingly, it's not about the member one would think is the most problematic.

Sungjae wakes up on this day feeling different. Not in the way that he feels fresher, or more melancholic.

He wakes up with a jolt even though there were nothing and no one waking him up. It's also not because of a nightmare. His body is completely fine and calm, no bullets of sweat indicating something terrible has happened.

In fact, he feels... calmer. Better. Just overall better. That's when he also feels like something must have changed inside his body, for some reason. He just suddenly has that thought, even though a quick feel test with his hands all over his body tells otherwise. It's like waking up in a different body, but also the same body at the same time.

He rolls off the bed to go get a look in the full-body mirror on the wall, which rouses his current roommate Peniel in the bed below him. While he's still taking a closer look at each part of his body and not finding any noticeable difference, he could see Peniel walking up behind him, a weird expression on his face.

"Sungjae?"

"Oh, good morning, hyung," he greets, still checking his body and also wondering what his hyung is thinking.

Peniel has that look—he wants to say something, but doesn't know how to say it. "Your... your first?"

"Huh?"

Peniel says something in English that Sungjae doesn't understand, and before the American could explain himself, someone is already at the door, opening it without knocking.

Minhyuk.

"Yook Sungjae," he says, voice still raspy, probably the first thing he's said all morning. His expression was a beaming, proud smile. "Yah. Our maknae has presented. Congrats."

* * *

Exactly when you present is like a lottery you don't know the results to. You just don't know when it'll happen. Some get it at 18, some get it at 27. The average presenting age is twenty. Generally, being presented earlier gives off a better impression of one's hormonal growth and quality. Scientists have proven that it doesn't really matter, but by the time they did, it's already been ingrained in people's minds as a social construct.

Yook Sungjae is nineteen, so he is one year early.

It comes as a shock to everyone because it's generally thought that unpresented people with strong auras have more "tickets" in this blind lottery everyone is in, so they usually present earlier. Meanwhile, Sungjae's aura is nowhere near strong, so he had expected the average age or even a later age of presenting. If any one of them were to present first, they had expected _someone_ else.

To be frank, Sungjae was completely unprepared when it happened this morning. He didn't know what to do and how to feel. Minhyuk had guided him so patiently, saying that he should "embrace" and "make friends" with this seemingly new body he is in. The calmer thoughts, the better control, and most importantly the urge to dominate and care. That talk had happened in the morning, when his body was still adjusting and his head was still clear. He was also immediately informed that once his body is done with the process, the first thing it does would be trying to sate itself.

And so Minhyuk took him to a place where the new alpha could spend his first rut. It's only been a mere four hours since he woke up, but Sungjae is already close to losing his mind. He's never been so eager to hear a number.

His queue number gets called and he walks in wide strides until he reaches the door, which he tries to push gently but ends up slamming the wall inside anyway.

Inside, the room is filled with the scent of the omega lying on the bed, and—

* * *

 

When he finally gets out of the room, the sky is already dark. Sungjae calls Minhyuk, needing a ride home because the hyung already knew he was going to spend hours inside and just wasn't going to wait.

Minhyuk arrives a short while later, pulling up in front of the place in their manager's car. Once inside the car, the first thing Minhyuk asks is "How was it?"

Which is an awkward question.

Sungjae blinks. "Uh—"

Minhyuk laughs. "Be grateful. I spent my first rut in a much much shabbier place. Nowhere as cool of a place as this."

This place itself is a company regular—they've made a deal so that everyone's safety body-wise and secrecy-wise is assured. It's also quite expensive, especially their hefty first rut rates, but it's also fully paid for by the company, so.

Sungjae feels sated and content, but also strange. Something seems really wrong. Is his body shifting around again?

"You feel weird, right?"

"Yeah."

"It's because you don't feel tired at all even though you spent hours probably knotting over and over again in there."

Sungjae blushes—this is not the kind of conversation he has often. But Minhyuk's right. He knotted so many times he stopped counting in that room, but he doesn't feel tired at all.

"What you spent in there were years of, um, pent-up sex energy," Minhyuk pauses to chuckle from his own awkwardness of saying it to his maknae, "so you've still got plenty of strength left. It'll only happen the first couple of ruts, then it goes back to normal. In fact, it'll start to get quite tiring." He laughs again.

Sungjae nods silently. Reality hasn't quite hit him, the fact that he has presented and from now on has to think about ruts hasn't quite hit him. It all happened so unexpectedly and instantly. And now he's gonna stay up all night thinking about it because his new alpha body won't get tired.

"Don't worry," Minhyuk says as if he knows what Sungjae is thinking, "that excess energy will prove to be convenient."

* * *

This is what Minhyuk meant.

When they get home, they're immediately greeted by party poppers setting off and party horn noises. He could feel the rubber of a party hat slapping against his chin and finds the culprit, lovely roommate Peniel, laughing by the side.

The one who starts shouting is, of course, Eunkwang. "HEY! MAKNAE! CONGRATS ON PRESENTING!!! HOPE YOU GOT A GOOD—"

He starts choking on air at perfect timing and runs to get water in the kitchen. Sungjae is just laughing.

"God he is _so_ loud," Changsub comments from the other side of the room, where the dishes of food crowd the small table like a packed bus.

Sungjae notices one thing among it all, that warm delectable aroma already filling his nostrils. "Is that doenjang jjigae?"

Minhyuk ushers him to the table of food. "Presenting is a once-in-a-lifetime special occasion, so we prepared this for you."

Sungjae just keeps "woah"ing in awe, savoring the table full of food with his eyes. "Hyung, can I this jjigae?" He asks no one in particular so no one answers, but it's not like the maknae was expecting one. "Whatever. I'm gonna try it anyway."

Changsub starts speaking (something about "mostly leftovers from food our moms left" and "takeout") but whatever, Sungjae isn't listening. He goes to grab a spoon and immediately do a test sip.

_Holy shit._

_That's one fucking good jjigae._

He probably said it out loud, because Eunkwang starts snickering next to him, a glass of water in his hand. "You like it? I made it for you."

"Ei ei ei, hyung," a raspy voice cuts in. Changsub is standing with his arms on his hips. "Don't claim my hard work, please and thank you."

Eunkwang rolls his eyes. "Okay, so Changsubie helped me cook it—"

"You and Minhyuk-hyung attempted to cook it, but your broth turned _black,"_ Changsub deadpans. "Couldn't stand watching it, so I took over."

Sungjae wonders if alphas also get emotional during rut days, because nothing much has happened but he suddenly feels like crying. Minhyuk, whose natural predator is a stove, actually attempted to make something. That means so much.

There's something else just as amazing. Sungjae turns to Changsub. "Did you make this alone?"

"Yeah. Hyunsik's been in the studio all day like always, he just came back a little while ago."

Sungjae looks around and he notices the absence of Hyunsik in the room. Ilhoon, too, but that's almost to be expected at this point. "And that brat's up to his usual shtick. Weirdly, he seems more pissy than usual today."

Changsub still wants to talk, but Sungjae notices that Minhyuk seems to be overhearing their conversation judging from his body language, so he nudges Changsub with his elbow to bring it to his attention. The beta instantly shuts up.

"Anyway," Sungjae tries to keep the night going. "Can we eat now? I'm super starving."

"Of course, of course!" Eunkwang responds excitedly, going to get their utensils. Minhyuk heads to the rooms to get the rest of the kids.

Meanwhile, Sungjae stands impatiently by the table with his bowl and spoon, and Changsub walks up beside him. "You better eat a lot of that jjigae. Preparing that alone was hectic as fuck. I shed blood, sweat and tears for it."

"Aw. Hyung. I'm touched." Sungjae puts his hand on his heart for mockery, eliciting a  disgusted expression from the beta. "I'm definitely gonna do just that, though. Doenjang jjigae is my favorite."

Changsub mumbles something, but it goes inaudible as Minhyuk enters their living quarters with a blank-faced Hyunsik in tow and announces a blaring "LET'S EAT!"

Eunkwang tilts his head, a slight downward pull to his smile. "Where's—"

"Ain't coming. Let's eat."

Worry tints the omega's face like ink filtering into wet paper as he keeps looking at Minhyuk's face, searching for an answer. The alpha stares at him as if to say "We'll talk about this later" and shrugs.

Hyunsik returns to his room immediately after dinner like he always does, from which guitar sounds would be heard until late in the night every day. He's never joined them in hanging out ever. They all chalk it up to him being shy and just let the conclusion be as such, because honestly, this place doesn't need more problems.

That’s another elephant in the room that gets ignored.

The five that are left spends the night talking about their pasts and playing Uno cards. One by one they go out like fireflies. Finally, when only the over-energized alpha and Peniel, who just seems to have unlimited energy all the time, are left, Sungjae starts to get exhausted and they both go out, sleeping together with their three hyungs on the living room floor like drunkards.

* * *

Ilhoon hates him, Sungjae has now discovered.

He doesn't say it to his face. He just has stopped talking to him altogether unless it's absolutely necessary, stopped showing him his new beats, stopped teaching him the dance moves he's having trouble with. He just has stopped.

He doesn't say it to his face, that's what Sungjae hates about it. He doesn't know what Ilhoon's deal is exactly. Looking at the timing, it probably has something to do with Sungjae presenting first, but to do all of this would just be too... much. Did he do something else that offended Ilhoon? He wasn't even being a show-off about presenting first anyway, didn't shove it to Ilhoon's face or anything, so what triggered this much of a reaction?

Who the hell is the hyung here?

Unpresented Sungjae would probably just be confused to hell like he has always been, but right now, he can really feel that beast inside him. Roaring. Raging. It's his hormones talking. The odd urge is not one to lash out like a teenager in puberty, but rather to set whoever is hurting him in their place. To discipline. To establish his position.

Minhyuk has told the new alpha to calm down, keep a distance, distract himself. Eunkwang is probably also already aware of the situation, so it is best to not bring it up to make him worry further. Let it be yet another unspoken thing and hope it's just a phase.

Sungjae hopes it too, that it's just a phase. He's been hoping since the Eunkwang debacle. In fact, it's all he's been hoping for; for the dream group that he was so excited to be in to come back; for Ilhoon, his hyung, to come back.

But Sungjae could only shake his head. Not the time to be thinking about that.

He also has lost count of how many elephants are in the room at this point and wonders how many more could fit before the room bursts. And then he thinks, now is probably also not the time to be thinking about that.

* * *

Today, they woke up to a strong scent for the second time this month, but this time it is one they're familiar with.

That time of the month has arrived.

Sungjae would usually be in the kitchen by now, helping Changsub make breakfast. However here he is now, at a different place entirely, one he's not tasked to be at. It's not where he consciously wants to be either, but his body has anchored itself here, apparently.

He hears steady footsteps coming his way, and Sungjae knows it's the footsteps of the person who is tasked to be here.

Minhyuk yawns and stretches his body as he walks, still blinking his sleep away and not really paying attention when he bumps into Sungjae's unmoving presence.

"Maknae," he says, rubbing his eyes. "Why are you—oh, wait. Of course you're here."

Sungjae arches up one eyebrow. "And what do you mean by that, hyung?"

The hyung points to the door. "Heat. Um. Alpha. Y'know."

He continues that with outward hand motions and a discernible, lingering, look at his dongsaeng's crotch.

"Well." Sungjae shakes his head chuckling. A fresh out of bed Minhyuk is a useless Minhyuk. "Alright, hyung."

The new alpha goes back to thinking. Is it really just instinct that he's here? Is that what being an alpha means? Undeniably, as evidenced by the rather large tent in his pants, he feels aroused. And he also can almost tangibly feel his hormones raging and crashing like waves inside him, eager to respond to the omega's silent cries for help. But—

That's not just it. That's definitely not just it. If it were just instincts, he could probably at least move his legs. If not away, inside the room. At least that's how it should be, judging from what happened on his first rut.

Somehow, Sungjae feels light but also heavy; sad but also happy, mellow but also fiery. It's an alien feeling. Combined with his lust and hormones, there are a million different emotions stirring inside him right now, slushing around the bowl like a glass of pina colada.

"You want to go in?" Minhyuk says, his voice still dragging on every word. "You can, if you want. No need to, like, stick to... that, um, that... y'know, _that._ "

The younger holds back a laugh. His words would've made no sense to someone who hasn't known him long enough, but thankfully Sungjae is a fluent Sleepy Minhyuk speaker.

Even so, though, he doesn't know how to answer his question. It's a yes or no question. The answer should be simple, either yes or no.

Problem is, Sungjae doesn't even know where his head is right now.

"I don't know, hyung," Sungjae says honestly, because even though he hates making other people think for him, he just can't think further. "Honestly."

They stare at each other in silence, Minhyuk still half-lidded and Sungjae hopeful for any enlightenment. When several seconds too long have passed—okay, he seems to still be too sleepy to think after all—Sungjae goes back to his own shell to try and—

"That only means you care a lot about Eunkwang-hyung."

That successfully whips Sungjae's head to face the hyung. He seems to have looked more awake, but he doesn't seem to realize what he has just said.

Again, Sungjae maintains eye contact with his hyung, waiting for any elaboration on his part. Meanwhile, those words keep ringing in his ears, accompanying the grunts of the omega inside the room.

_The reason why this is different than that omega from before... is..._

"I'm spouting nonsense," Minhyuk says finally, chuckling to himself, not providing Sungjae the elaboration he needs. "It's still _way_ too early. Anyway, if you want to go in, go in. If not, join us for breakfast."

Shuffling still, he starts to walk towards the living area. Sungjae watches his retreating back, slowly distancing away, before finally—

"Minhyuk-hyung."

Said hyung turns around to face Sungjae again after the maknae called his name. He raises his brows in question.

"Don't cook in my place," Sungjae says. "Or there would be no breakfast to serve. Unless you'd rather eat Changsub-hyung's complaints for breakfast."

Processing Sungjae's words in the slowly accelerating factory of his brain, Minhyuk finally understands what Sungjae means five seconds later, producing a smirk on his face.

"Got it," he responds before leaving.

Finally, Minhyuk's figure disappears into the living area.

As for Sungjae...

He puts his hand on the door handle and slowly, but with firm steps, walks into the room.

* * *

 

Sounds fill the room: of their loud breaths, of skin against skin, of the creaking of the bed.

And over it all, a voice. "Hyung."

The omega under him sucks in a breath, loosening his grip on the sheets as he feels the alpha slowing down.

"What is it, Sungjae?"

Sungjae wants to stop and think—he's been meaning to for the past fifteen minutes. But his lower half has been defying his brain all this while, or maybe his brain is the one subconsciously telling his body to act like that, because _god_. This feeling.

Again, it happens—Sungjae tries to form a sentence, a string of words, something that is of moderate sense, but his thought is interrupted by his hips thrusting into the omega below him and some internal yelling from his inner wolf because _it feels so good!_

His pace is picking up again, kind of against his will but not really, honestly, and the omega goes back to gripping viciously on the sheets and squeezing his eyes shut.

"H-Hyung," Sungjae says in another attempt to speak that yet again goes futile. To be honest, the real reason why he is so easily interrupted is probably because he still isn't sure what to say himself. He already has sort of an idea of how he feels, and he wants to immediately share those feelings to his leader, because that's just how he is. Whatever he's feeling, he just has to say it right away, or he just wouldn't sit.

Walking into the room earlier he had figured out how he feels, kinda sorta, so just had to think of the actual words to say it, but it all just went out of the window once he saw Eunkwang. Sensed Eunkwang. Felt Eunkwang.

His body reacted before his brain did, and this is how it ended up.

Below him, limbs reach up to almost completely hug him, pressing as much as possible of their skin together. They end up with Eunkwang straddling him, clasped limbs securing his place while Sungjae leans against the wall for support.

Sungjae could feel it—the feeling of being connected through themselves, through their inner wolves and through their bodies. While it may be true that Sungjae is a mere greenhorn alpha whose hormones haven't really settled, the handicap only serves to bring them closer together, using physical contact to catalyze the comfort.

And boy, does it work.

"Sungjae-yah," Eunkwang almost mumbles contentedly, body practically completely loose in Sungjae's hold. "It feels good—so good. Don't stop—mmm—"

Omegas are, as one of their instincts to survive, extremely vigilant.

It only makes sense, considering how easy it would be for one to exploit them if they weren't. Unless they completely trust someone—completely, without a shred of doubt—they are physically hindered from really loosen themselves up. And while cases in which vigilant omegas get harassed are still rampant, it certainly is a much lower number than how it would be if omegas trust people easily.

Sungjae hugs the omega tighter in his arms, feeling the extremely relaxed body rock along with his gradually roughening thrusts. He thinks that Eunkwang being Eunkwang, he'd probably be this relaxed with anyone from the group at this point, but it's still so... empowering. Delighting. But—

His thrusts are stuttering—he's close, and Eunkwang knows, too.

"In me, alpha." Eunkwang sucks in a breath. "Pop it in—"

And Sungjae does, popping his knot deep inside his leader with a long grunt. At the same time, the omega comes, squirting white droplets all over their stomachs.

They stay in that position for several seconds, catching their breaths, before Eunkwang's high-pitched giggle breaks the silence. He seems to be very pleased. Sungjae is glad, too. His brain wasn't there to think when he started all of this, but now that he sees he has done well, it's a massive relief considering how much he was just going with what his body told him.

They both carefully adjust so that Sungjae is spooning Eunkwang, as it seems to be the most comfortable position to wait for a knot to be done.

Then, finally, Sungjae does what he wasn't able to do all this time: think.

His mind flashes back to when he first held his leader like this, the first time he felt the urge to hug him. Come to think of it, how he felt back then and right now is mostly the same. It's just that he is more mature now, more aware of his responsibilities, more confident. Less afraid to make decisions and less confused.

"Eunkwang-hyung," he starts to say against the leader's neck. "I want to protect you."

The leader does not respond, but Sungjae continues anyway. His heart thumps in his ears. That nervousness is still in him, no matter how confident he gets. He's basically making a promise to his leader right now, and a promise isn't something to be taken lightly.

Trust. He's learned that has his leader's trust. And while being trusted should make one feel proud, on the other side of a coin, there's a burden that comes with trust. Responsibility. Expectations. The upholding of that trust.

"I'm gonna be someone you can depend on," the alpha declares. "So depend on me. Ask for my help. Our help. You... you don't deserve anything bad to happen to you."

He could feel his knot release, and along with it, his drowsiness begins to rapidly take over. _Awful timing,_ he thinks, but figures he's said the main thing he wants to say anyway.

"Our group is a great group, hyung. Issues aside, I just know that we're destined for great things... and it's also because you are our leader that we... we're so..."

He pulls out from the oversensitivity after being fully released. It's maybe the last thing he could do consciously, as his vision starts to blur.

"Whatever happens," his voice dims down to a mumble. "I promise I'm gonna...."

Black. Limbs intertwined, they fall into deep sleep on the bed.

Unbeknownst to Sungjae, Eunkwang has been asleep since they adjusted their positions, leaving the walls to be the sole witnesses to the maknae's earnest promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My [twitter](http://twitter.com/btosuju) and my [curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/donggeun), if that's what you prefer. Hit me up and be noisy about the fic! I always love that.
> 
> Guess whose chapter it'll be next... ;) It'll be more of a fun one in contrast to the drama in this one.


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